Word: swimmer
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...many others are no more than moderately talented late bloomers. A fierce competitive spirit drives some. Others are attracted to the Games largely because of the camaraderie or as a way of keeping life fresh and exhilarating: "Because there's always an event coming up," says swimmer Bob Bailie, 64, of The Woodlands, Texas, "a senior athlete always has a date with the future." Here are the stories of five of them...
...high school athlete, Mike Freshley asked a friend's father to hypnotize him before track meets and convince him that he could leap impossible distances. Under the spell, he long-jumped 23 ft. 3 in.--2 ft. better than the school record. At 58, Freshley, now a swimmer, no longer needs a hypnotist. Fully conscious, he can visualize heats in advance and see victory. His imagination is usually on target. In a Masters meet last year, he swam the most demanding race in the sport, the 400-m medley, in 6 min. flat, the best time...
Freshley, who lives in La Jolla, Calif., is an apostle of swimming. "Before 50, swimming is optional," he says. "After 50, it's mandatory. Guys' egos force them to play basketball at 55 as they did at 20, and they damage their knees." A 70-year-old swimmer looks 50, he maintains, but a 70-year-old runner looks 90. Swimming lowers cholesterol and reduces arthritis pain, he says, and it has strengthened his immune system to the point that he gets barely one cold a year. He recognizes, however, that not everyone will share his devotion. "Nobody...
...boys can beat me in arm wrestling without half trying. My daughter can outrun me in a race; no sweat. But they do not savor these victories. I am the father who should not be conquered. One afternoon when I was 14, my father, once a powerful and muscular swimmer, ran out of breath as we swam to a float in Cape Cod Bay. Panting like a hooked fish, he leaned on me as we swam back. My heart sank...
RoAnn Costin '74, a varsity swimmer and memberof the first Radcliffe rowing team, calls the 1973merger between the Harvard and Radcliffe athleticdepartments a major victory for female athletes...